


Natalia

by A_Constant_Reminder



Category: Marvel (Comics)
Genre: AU, Adorable dorks in love, Alternate Universe, Anastasia AU, Brainwashing, F/M, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2016-01-14
Packaged: 2018-05-07 15:01:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5460674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Constant_Reminder/pseuds/A_Constant_Reminder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's a lost girl trying to find her family. He's a lost boy trying to make a buck. They didn't know who they were until they were together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

> The only reason this is here is because why not. People wanted it and I delivered. Also if you click [here](http://8tracks.com/pondlocked/natalia) I've put together a playlist for the soundtrack.

> _Once we lived in an enchanted world. A world of Tsars and Princesses and elegant palaces and grand parties. A beautiful, magical time._

Marie grabbed the music box on the bedside table and walked downstairs to climb into the waiting carriage. She rode for a bit, the carriage jostling slightly as the driver tried to miss the potholes on the road. The snow falling down painted St Petersburg in a beautiful blanket of white. She smiled as she pulled up to the door of the palace. 

> _The year was 1916, and my son, Nicholas, was the Tsar of all of Imperial Russia._

She walked into the crowded ballroom. A servant took her coat and she nodded at a few guests as she walked up to her seat above the royal family. She watched as brightly dressed couples danced on the floor, while others lingered on the sides and talked amongst themselves. The ballroom was elegantly decorated with gold and purple tapestries. Marie spotted her granddaughter and waved as she sat down. 

> _We were celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Romanov rule. And that night, no star in the sky burned brighter than that of sweet Natalia, my youngest granddaughter._

Natalia ran away from her father and up to Marie, a drawing clutched in her hand. She handed the drawing to Marie and smiled. 

“Do you have to return to Paris?” She whined. 

“Come now, Natalia, that is not a tone befitting of a young princess.” Marie scolded but smiled none-the-less. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a gold music box and handed it to Natalia. 

“For me?” She asked. “Is it a jewellery box?” 

Marie laughed and shook her head. She reached back into her handbag and pulled out a delicate gold chain with an emerald pendent on the end.  

“Look,” she smiled knowingly as she took the music box from Natalia.  

She placed the pendent in the slot on the side of the music box and turned it three times. It opened and a ballerina emerged from inside. 

“It’s playing our song!” Natalia gasped. 

“I had it made especially for you.” Marie smiled and took her granddaughter's hand. “To remember me when I’m away.” She let go of Natalia’s hand and gave her the pendent. “Read what it says.” 

Natalia held it delicately and squinted her eyes to better read the small inscription. 

“Together in Paris…” Her eyes widened. “Oh, Grandmama! Really?” 

She threw her arms around Marie and rested her cheek on her shoulder. 

> _But we would never be together in Paris, for that night, a dark shadow had descended upon the house of the Romanovs._

The crowd quietened down and parted silently as a robed man walked down the middle of the ballroom. Marie lifted her head from Natalia’s shoulder and gasped. She stood up and held her granddaughter tightly against her. Natalia’s head lifted from her grandmother’s. Her eyes caught that of the robed man’s. Terrified, she buried her face in her grandmother’s dress. 

> _His name was Rasputin. We thought he was a holy man but he was power-mad, dangerous._

Marie locked eyes with her son, Nicholas. He nodded and walked down the steps to meet Rasputin on the floor. 

“How dare you return to the palace.” He boomed, his voice commanding and strong. 

Rasputin’s eyes widened and his hands flew to his chest. “But, I am your confidant!” 

“Confidant? Ha.” Nicholas laughed. “You are a traitor, get out!” 

“You think you can banish the great Rasputin?” His voice was raspy, raw. “By the unholy powers vested in me, I banish you with a curse!” 

The crowd gasped and Marie pushed Natalia behind her. Rasputin turned to the crowd. 

“Mark my words,” he commanded and turned to point at Nicholas. “You, and your family, will die! Within the fortnight!” 

Nicholas looked back at his family. Marie could see the fear in his eyes. 

“I will not rest until I see the end of the Romanov line forever!” 

Rasputin spun around and lifted a green and glowing tube to the ceiling. An unholy stream of light emerged from the tube and covered the chandelier. It came crashing down, narrowly missing some guests. Natalia whimpered into her dress and clutched at her grandmother as tight as her little hands could handle. 

Rasputin was grabbed by the guards and escorted out of the palace. His eyes were mad as they fixated on Marie and Natalia. He wrestled a hand free and pointed at Natalia. 

“You, my little babushka. You will be so much fun to kill that I'll save you for last!” He cackled as they dragged him away. 

Marie looked down at Natalia who was fighting back the tears in her eyes as she watched her father try to console his wife. Nicholas looked up at Marie but she didn’t know what to say. 

> _Fuelled by his hatred for Nicholas and his family, Rasputin sold his soul for the power to destroy them. And from that moment on, the spark of unhappiness in our country was fanned into a flame that soon destroyed our lives forever._

They were supposed to leave days ago, to run away to a different country, one that they would be safe in. But Nicholas did not believe Rasputin’s threats. He chose to ignore the cries of his people as they shouted at them through the palace gates. But now those same gates were threatening to give out as the people pushed and pulled against them in an effort to get into the palace. 

“Nicholas, please!” Alexandra cried as she pulled him towards the carriage waiting for them. 

Inside it was chaos. Marie and Natalia ran to the door but Natalia stopped suddenly. 

“My music box!” She gasped. 

She couldn’t leave it behind, not that. Natalia turned around and ran back to her playroom. Marie followed her, screaming her name. 

“Natalia, please, we have to go!” She closed the door behind her. Outside there was a loud crash. Marie rushed to the window and saw the swarm of people running up the snow-covered gardens. “Natalia!” 

Natalia grabbed her music box and Marie grabbed her hand. Just then a boy emerged from the wall. 

“Your highness!” He shouted. “This way, come this way through the servants’ quarters.”  

He ushered them into the hole in the wall. Natalia locked eyes with him and them dropped her music box as he pushed the door closed. She barely had time to protest before Marie pulled her down the dimly lit corridor. 

The servants helped them out, they had no quarrel with Natalia who had taught many of them to read. They didn’t want to see her suffer at the hands of the rebels. Marie thanked them and told them they they would be rewarded and then they disappeared into a carriage headed for the train station. Natalia burned her head in her grandmother’s lap and wept for her family. 

The train that they were supposed to have boarded was starting to leave the station as they arrived. Marie gripped Natalia’s hand tight and pulled her behind her as she ran to catch up with the slow-moving train. Some men helped her onto the platform but Natalia’s small hand slipped out of hers. She turned around and reached out for her granddaughter who was desperately reaching for her. 

“Natalia, grab my hand!” She shouted. She felt her smooth hand in hers and held on tight, trying to pull her onto the platform. 

“Grandmama!” Natalia cried. 

“Don’t let go!” She shouted. 

Natalia tripped over something and her hand slipped out of Marie’s. 

“Natalia!” She shouted. 

She tried to jump off the moving train but two men held her back. Marie watched helplessly as Natalia fell to the ground and a crowd of people covered her young granddaughter. 

> _So many lives were destroyed that night. What had always been, was now gone, forever. And my Natalia, my beloved grandchild, I never saw her again._  


	2. Chapter 2

Natalia woke up in a cold room. Her hands and feet were strapped to the bed with leather. She tried to make out her surroundings but she realised she was wearing a blindfold.

“Hello?” She called out. Someone moved, or at least she thought they did. “Grandmama?”

“Hello, Princess.” A strange voice said. Natalia froze. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you. If you’re lucky you’ll survive.”

Natalia heard other people enter the room, they were whispering amongst themselves. She tried her hardest not to cry.

“Is she ready?” One person asked.

“As ready as she’ll ever be.” The first voice answered.

“Good, she’ll be wiped and begin orientation at dawn.” The second voice said. “Bring in the Enchantress.”

The room quietened down and Natalia strained to hear… Something. Anything. She felt cold fingers press against her temples. Someone else grabbed her wrist.

“Sssh, Princess, this is all just a bad dream.” A voice whispered in her ear.

The voice seemed to wrap itself around her brain and travel down to her toes and fingers. Natalia relaxed, her heart rate slowed and her breathing evened out.

“Good girl, now we can begin…”

“My name is Natalia Alianovna Romanov.” She said, her voice monotonous. “I am one of the daughters of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna.”

“Good girl.” The voice wrapped around her tighter, constricting her. “Now it’s time to sleep.” It commanded.

~~

When she awoke, her head hurt but she found nothing odd with it. She awoke to the sound of a loud bell indicating it was breakfast time. The sun had not yet risen and the world was still sleeping. But for her and the other 28 girls, the day had begun.

The ate a bland meal of oatmeal with water and no honey, and a banana. No one spoke, they all knew what would happen if they made a noise. When they finished, they would stand up and wash their dishes. Then they would walk to a table which held 28 individual small cups of various medications.

Natasha followed the motions of her morning routine which she had known for years. Today was different though. Today they were taking their final tests. Today would decide if they were worthy of holding the name “Black Widow”.

She followed the other girls to the first test. Three girls died and she broke two ribs. But she won.

She led them to the second test. They were down to 16 girls. She won.

The third test was the easiest. Eight were left. Natasha won, but not by much.

The fourth test was the hardest. 

Natasha found herself in a bare room with an operating table in the middle. Next to the table was an assortment of surgical tools. She sat down on the bed like she was ordered, but for once she felt a foreign feeling in her.

_Fear_.

Madame R came into the room followed by a lanky man. Half of his face covered with a surgical mask. Madame R smiled at Natasha.

“I knew you would make it.” She said as she looked through a chart. “You will make us proud.”

Two more men came in and pushed her down onto the table. The steel was cold on her skin. The room went silent as someone else entered the room.

“You know what to do with this one.” Madame R said. “She’s our best, make sure you treat her as such.”

Natasha felt cold fingers on her temples. She couldn’t help but feel that they felt somewhat familiar.

“Let’s begin.” Madame R ordered. “Who are you?”

“My name is Natasha.” She recited. “I am one of 28 girls competing for the role of the Black Widow. For the glory of my parents… No. For the glory of the Soviet Union I will be the best.”

Madame R nodded, she heard her write something on the paper.

“Good job, Natasha.” Madame R smiled. She looked up to the lanky man. “Wipe her and give her the serum.” Her face came into Natasha’s view. She had a twisted smile on her face. “I hope you survive this.”

~~

Natasha perched precariously on a rail of a building. Below she watched as her target moved around. It was a cold night in Paris, the snow had started to fall. She was not her first kill and would not be her last. She watched as the woman got into a town car followed by another dark-haired woman. She heard snippets of their conversation but she already knew where they were going.

She made her way to the theatre and snuck in through the back entrance. She made her way to the box that the woman was expected in, she rented the box each month and made a point to go whenever the Russian Ballet passed through town. Natasha stuck to the shadows, quickly disposing of the guard outside the woman’s door. She didn’t care why anyone wanted to kill this woman, she didn’t care if anyone got in her way.

She carefully opened the door and slipped inside. The show was going but the woman was alone, which made it easier for her. She liked to avoid leaving a massive trail of dead bodies if she could.

Natasha snuck up behind the woman just as she stood up and turned around. They both froze. Normally in this situation she would kill the target point blank and be done with it. But the feeling of familiarity overwhelmed her and her training was the furtherest thing from her mind.

“ _Natalia_ …” The woman said and clutched her heart.

She didn’t stick around to ask questions, she figured if the old woman died from a heart attack it would be just as effective as her killing the woman, it would just look more natural. Natasha ran away for the first time ever. Her brain was pounding against her skull, threatening to break through. She stumbled onto the street, bumping into a few disgruntled people. She fell into the newly fallen snow, clutching her head. Her training…

Her training.

Who was she? 

The answer was simple. She was Natasha, one of eight Black Widow agents. She killed people who threatened the Soviet Union. She repeated this again and again. She was Natasha, one of eight Black Widow agents. She killed for the glory of the Soviet Union. 

_She was Natasha._

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Well starting now I'm learning fast. On this journey to the past."_

Natasha stretched out on her pallet. Around her girls were getting ready for the day, they were all talking and laughing around as they made their beds. A pillow flew into Natasha’s face followed by a chorus of laughs.

“Get up before she comes for inspection!” Yelena giggled. “You always do this Natasha, come on, it’s your big day, you can’t ruin it!”

She smiled and jumped out of bed. She quickly made it before the matron came by to inspect them. She stopped in front of Natasha, inspecting hers closer than the rest. She gave Natasha a look before moving on. Natasha gently nudged Yelena and the two exchanged a look.

They all got dressed and had oatmeal with water and no honey, and a banana. Natasha smiled and talked to the other girls who were her age. Today was her 18th birthday, or they assumed it was because she couldn’t actually remember when she was born. Or anything from before two years ago. After breakfast she was supposed to leave. Natasha felt sad about leaving her friends behind but there was a whole world out there just waiting for her. And a family too. Her fingers went to the chain she wore around her neck. It was the only proof she had that someone out there loved her. 

Comrade Phlegmenkoff all but pushed her out the door. Natasha didn’t have a chance to properly say goodbye to anyone.

“I have gotten you a job at the fish factory.” Phlegmenkoff said as she ushered Natasha out the door. “You go straight down this path ’til you get to the fork in the road. Go left.”

From the windows came a chorus of ‘goodbye’s. Natasha waved to all of them, wishing that she had more of a chance to say goodbye to the only family she had ever known. 

“Are you even listening to me?” She put her hands on her hips.

“I’m listening Comrade Phlegmenkoff.” Natasha stopped saying goodbye and looked at the older woman.

She grabbed Natasha by the scarf. “You’ve been a thorn in my side ever since you came here.” She dragged Natasha to the gate. “Acting like the queen of Sheba instead of the nameless, no account you are. For the last two years, I fed you, clothed you…”

“Kept a roof over my head.” Natasha ticked off the list on her fingers.

“How is it that you don’t have a clue who you were before you came to us but you remember all that?” Phlegmenkoff pushed her out of the gate.

“I do have a clue to-” Natasha protested.

“Ugh! I know.” Phlegmenkoff smiled sarcastically. “‘Together in Paris’.” Her tone changed to something sweeter. “So… You want to go to France to find your family?” Natasha nodded. “Ha! Little Miss Natasha, it’s time to learn your place in life. In life and in line. And be grateful too.”

Phlegmenkoff threw the scarf at Natasha’s face before she could protest.

“Together in Paris!” She laughed as she closed the gate on Natasha.

Natasha walked away from the orphanage. She imitated Phlegmenkoff as she walked.

“‘Be grateful’,” she coughed. “I am grateful. Grateful to get away!” She yelled back.

Natasha sighed. She came up to the signpost which marked the way to the fish factory. She stopped and looked at it. The sign had icicles frozen from it and a bench of snow underneath it. 

“‘Go left’ she says.” Natasha pursed her lips. “Well I know what’s left. I’ll be Natasha the orphan forever.”

She sighed again and walked to the other side of the pole. The sign promised St. Petersburg. And the start of a new life.

“But if I go right…” Natasha said hopefully. She pulled out her necklace and looked longingly at it. There was a hole in her heart that no amount of friends had been able to fix. “Whoever gave me this necklace must have loved me.” 

Natasha scoffed and rolled her eyes. “This is crazy.” She said as she walked back towards the fish factory. 

She stopped in the middle and looked up at the sky. Normally she wasn’t one to believe in a higher power. She believed that everything that happened was caused by your actions. But she wasn’t above asking for a little bit of help right now. She was scared. If she went left, she would stay Natasha, a life she had become accustomed to, grown to like even. But if she went right, she might finally find the answers that she has been waiting for for the past two years. There was nothing that she knew about that life, nothing that she could remember. It was a mystery to her and she was scared of the unknown.

“Send me a sign!” She yelled up at the sky. The snow fell on to her face. “Anything!” 

Natasha sat onto the bench of snow. It was packed enough that she didn’t fall through. She was so unsure of herself, which was unlike her. Normally she knew what to do, how to act, but that was always when someone expected something from her.

But then something pulled on her scarf, pulling it out of her pocket. She turned around to see a small black cat holding her scarf in its mouth. She frowned and reached for it. The cat jumped out of the way and made a soft little noise. Natasha sighed and stood up, going for the cat again.

“I don’t have time for this.” She frowned. “I’m waiting for a sign.”

The cat meowed again and ran down the path towards St. Petersburg. Natasha looked up at the sign post and then at the cat.

“Okay…” She arched an eyebrow. “I can take a hint.”

She followed the cat, who dropped her scarf and rubbed itself against her legs. She picked up the scarf and patted the cat on the head.

“Don’t think that this means we’re friends.” She said to the cat. “I have to go to Paris and I can’t take you with me.”

The cat meowed and purred as it rubbed its head against her. Natasha pursed her lips.

“I guess you can tag along for a bit.”

She hesitated for a moment before she started down the snow-covered path. A carriage came up behind her and she jumped out of the way just in time. She swore at them for almost hitting her but they disappeared out of sight. Natasha stood up and dusted herself off.

“Here goes nothing.” She stood up straighter and took the first step.

Her heart fluttered in her chest but then kept on beating. She felt like she was on the right path. She didn’t know what it was, or how she knew this, but she knew that she had to be in Paris more than anything.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it took me so long to update this. Real life work got in the way! But here is the next chapter.

It took her almost the whole day to walk to St. Petersburg. When she got there the sun was starting to set and people were starting to leave their jobs. The city was alive with movement. Natasha looked around as she walked, she bumped into a few people causing them to give her dirty looks but she didn’t care. It was beautiful. She had never seen anything quite like this city, or at least she couldn’t remember if she had. 

She asked someone for directions to the train terminal. She had to get a ticket before they closed. They pointed her in the direction and then went about their business before Natasha could thank them. She walked the way that they pointed and stood at the back of a rather long queue. She fiddled with her necklace as the queue slowly moved forward. By the time it came to be her turn the sun had practically set and the man behind the counter looked rather fed up.

“I’d like one ticket to Paris please.” She said hopefully. It didn’t occur to her that she needed to pay for the ticket.

“Exit visa,” the man said in a bored tone.

Another thing that hadn’t occurred to her. “Exit visa?” She asked.

The man looked up at her. “No exit visa?” He almost shouted, spitting in her face. “No ticket!” 

He slammed the shutters closed on the window. Behind her the line dispersed, muttering angrily as they went. Natasha turned around, disgruntled. Why had that man been so rude to her, she didn’t understand. A bony finger tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to see a hunched over old lady behind her. She beckoned Natasha to lean in so that she could whisper in her ear. Curious, Natasha obliged and leaned in to the woman’s mouth.

“Go and see Bucky in the old palace.” The old woman whispered in her ear. Natasha pulled away and looked at the woman, confused. “You didn’t hear it from me.”

She watched as the old woman shuffled away. She had no idea where the old palace was. Natasha looked around for someone to help her. At her feet the black cat meowed and Natasha arched an eyebrow.

“Didn’t we agree that you weren’t going to follow me?” She asked.

Natasha sighed, giving up on the cat for now, and walked up to the first person she saw.

“Excuse me, can you tell me the way to the old palace?” She asked as sweetly as she could. 

“The old palace?” He huffed. “Why would you want to go there?”

She shrugged. “I just do. Do you know where it is or not?”

He pointed her in the direction and then waved her off, muttering about how crazy she was. Natasha resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him and walked in the direction he pointed.

By the time she got to the old palace the street lamps were on and the air chilled her to the bone. The doorway was boarded up, probably out of respect of the royals who once lived there. She looked through the gaps in the boards, calling out for… She didn’t know what.

“Hello?” She called.

Obviously no one answered, she didn’t know what she had expected. The cat meowed and threaded itself between her legs. Natasha looked down and smiled, it had sort of grown on her, having the constant companion by her.

“I don’t think anyone’s home.” She shrugged and turned around. “Maybe there’s another entrance…”

The cat meowed again and Natasha turned around just in time to see him jump through a gap in the boards and disappear inside. This was why she didn’t get attached to things. 

“Liho!” She called out softly. She heard the cat meow echo inside and shook her head. “You’re becoming more trouble than I wanted.” She sighed.

Natasha looked around and made sure that no one was looking before she pulled the boards easily off the doorway. She had always been a little stronger than the other girls and for once it came in handy. She stepped inside, coughing slightly at the dust that had accumulated by the unused doorway.

“Liho!” She whispered.

She walked further inside, her head starting to throb. She wasn’t sure what hallways to go down but at the same time she knew. Natasha found herself in a parlour. The tables were still set with whatever plates and cutlery were left behind by looters. Everything was covered in dust causing the place to look a lot older than it was. She walked over to the closest table, and blew on one of the plates. She picked it up and inspected it. It was probably worth a fortune, it was beyond her how anyone could have left something like this behind. She put it down and shook her head. The plate felt familiar in her hands, but that was crazy.

Natasha walked over to a lone vase sitting under a large mirror. It was cracked and missing a few pieces but the artwork was almost in tact. She gently ran her fingers over it and frowned.

“This… Place. It’s like a memory from a dream.” She whispered to herself.

She walked into the next room, softly humming to herself. She wasn’t sure where she knew the tune from, maybe she had heard one of the other girls singing it in the orphanage, but it sounded familiar and comforting.

She found herself in the ballroom. It was a shame to see it so empty, she could picture how it looked back when it was used by people. Royals in their glittering gowns would dance all night until they were tired. She walked down the stairs, pretending that she was one of them, even if only for a second. 

She bowed to the other royals descending the stairs with her, making her way onto the floor. She continued humming as three girls came up to her and put a beautiful pearl necklace onto her. Natasha spun around, falling into the arms of a gentleman suitor, dancing with him. She changed partners a few times before she came face to face with a man who’s face seemed to reach into the dark recesses of her mind and gently poke memories that she didn’t know she had.

Her day dream was broken by a rude “Hey! What are you doing in here?!”

Natasha got up and ran towards her coat and her cat. 

“Hey!” He called out again.

She heard his footsteps as he ran towards her from the other side of the ballroom. She was fast for someone who hardly ever ran. At the top of the steps, Liho was hissing at the stranger. Natasha climbed the steps as fast as she could, but it wasn’t fast enough.

“Stop!” The man said. 

He was too close now to outrun so she did as he said. Natasha slowed to a stop and then turned around and looked at him. She was taken aback for a second as she fully took in the stranger who had yelled at her. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt which was normal for this weather but what wasn’t normal was the fact that he was only wearing one glove. His hair was longer than most people wore it these days and it was pushed back. But he had a lock of hair which kept on creepy back into his eyes.

“Now how did you get in… H-here…” The man stuttered as she turned around.

Natasha ignored him and shrugged. He just watched her with a wide mouth which slowly turned to a smile. She was confused, why was he looking at her like that? The other man came running up behind him, Natasha couldn’t help but feel cornered. She didn’t like the odds that were presenting themselves.

The pair whispered to each other for a second, the first man pointing back at Natasha. She arched her eyebrow. She hated it when people talked about her like she wasn’t in the room. The other man smiled and exclaimed.

“Excuse me,” she sighed, she had had enough of this. “Are you Bucky?”

The first man leant down and picked up her cat, who looked angry to be in his arms. He pawned Liho off to the other man and sauntered up to her.

“Perhaps. That all depends on who’s looking for him.” He chuckled as he climbed the stairs.

“My name is Natasha,” she said, meeting him halfway. “I need travel papers.” She leaned into him. “They say you’re the man to see, even though I can’t tell you who they are.”

The man, she assumed to be Bucky, circled her and hummed critically.

“Hey!” She exclaimed, turning around. “What-Why are you circling me? What… Were you a vulture in another life?”

He threw his hands up and walked towards the other man before motioning him to come up the stairs. “I-I’m sorry Nayasha.” He smiled.

“It’s-It’s Natasha.” She corrected.

“Nayasha,”

“Na-Ta-Sha.”

He shrugged it off. “It’s just that you look an awful lot like…” He broke off, motioning to the painting behind her. “And… Never mind.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. This man was all over the place, why was she even here? He pulled the other man up the remaining stairs.

“Now, you said something about travel papers?” He smirked, never once taking his eyes off her.

“Uh… Yes.” She shrugged. “I’d like to go to Paris.”

The other man was chuckling and scratching Liho who was purring in his arms.

“You’d like to go to Paris?!” Bucky practically shouted.

He turned around to the other man and patted his shoulder.

“Who is this here?” He asked as Liho licked his nose. “Oh! Oh! He likes me.”

“Nice,” Bucky said as he pushed the man away. “Uh… Now, let me ask you something… Natasha, was it? Is there a last name that goes with that?”

Natasha frowned and rubbed her head. “Uh… Actually, I don’t know my last name.” She shrugged. “I was found wondering the streets when I was 16.”

“And what about before that? Before you were 16?”

She buried her face in her hands. “This is going to sound strange but I don’t remember. I have very few memories about my past.”

She fiddled with her necklace, not many people knew about her memory loss and it felt odd admitting it out loud.

“Hmm…” Bucky said. “That’s… That’s perfect.”

“Well I do have one clue however, and that’s Paris.” She ignored his comment.

“Paris?”

“Yeah, so can you two help me or not?”

Bucky crossed his arms over his chest, seeming to think for a moment before he turned around and motioned for the other guy to give him something.

“Sure would like to.” He smiled. “In fact, oddly enough, we’re going to Paris ourselves.”

Natasha couldn’t believe her luck. But she got the feeling that something was bound to go wrong.

And then it did.

“But we only have three tickets.” He smirked as the other guy handed him three pieces of paper. “Two for us and one for the princess Natalia.”

Bucky motioned to the portrait behind her. Natasha turned around and frowned, studying the portrait. There could have been some similarities, but she couldn’t find them. It had been too long since she last looked in a mirror. 

“Well, sorry about that.” Bucky said, turning Natasha’s attention back to him. “We’ll go and get your papers. Good luck.”

He turned and walked away, whispering some things to his colleague. Natasha turned back to the portrait and reached out to stroke the face of the young girl. If she was the princess… These men could help her find her family, her past. She took a deep breath in, squaring her jaw, and turned around to call after Bucky.

“Wait!” She yelled as she picked up her stuff and ran after them. They turned around, Bucky had a sly grin plastered on to his face. She ignored it and continued. “If I’m not the princess or duchess or whatever, then the grand duchess will realise and it’ll be all a mistake and we’ll go on our merry way, right?”

Bucky nodded. “Right.”

The other man came up and put his arm on her shoulders. She smiled up at him, his easy grin and messy blonde hair made her feel calm.

“But if you are the princess,” he smiled. “Then you will have found your family.”

She nodded. “Exactly.”

They walked towards the door, Natasha laughed as Liho followed her meowing. “Well, Liho, we’re going to Paris!”

But the Kremlin has eyes everywhere, he sat back and watched as his plan unfolded. His lips twisted up into a cruel smile as his asset continued on the track he laid out.


	5. Part 1

They were to take a train from St. Petersburg to Paris. It seemed easy enough.

Natasha sat on the soft seat and stared out the window. Her fingers unconsciously played with her pendent as she thought. 24 hours ago she had just been a lowly orphan with no past and a future in a fish factory where she would have probably met a poor man who worked with her and they would probably have started a family of their own. Bucky and Steve had informed her of the princesses past and how she got lost during the siege on the palace ten years ago. Natasha knew every girl grew up pretending to be a princess. She couldn’t remember if she ever did. But it was hard to think of yourself as a princess when you’re sleeping on a cold, damp floor with nothing but a blanket and a bag stuffed with straw as a pillow.

Bucky sat down beside her after mumbling something about Liho getting the window seat. Natasha ignored him and continued to look out the window.

“Will you stop fiddling with that thing and sit up straight?” He groaned. “Grand duchesses do not slouch.”

Natasha frowned at him. “And how is it that you know so much about what grand duchesses should do?”

“I make it my business to know.” He smirked at her.

She sighed, blowing her fringe out of her face.

“Look, Natasha, I’m only trying to help you.”

She sat up straight and dropped her hands into her lap.

“Bucky?” She said softly. “Do you really think that I’m royalty?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then stop bossing me around.” She groaned and slouched back into the seat.

Steve chuckled and continued writing. “She’s certainly got a mind of her own.”

“Yeah I hate that in a woman.” Bucky crossed his arms over his chest.

Natasha stuck her tongue out at him but quickly turned back to the window before he could see it. In the reflection she saw him frown at her. She smiled to herself, knowing that she had won that argument.

It seemed that all she and Bucky ever did was argue. The two butt heads a good 80% of the time. They both had different opinions of what she should and shouldn’t be doing. Bucky for the most part, didn’t understand her need to find answers to her unknown past. He figured that it was better to leave those things alone and get on with your life. Natasha most of the time just wanted to smack him.

Natasha sat alone in the room for what seemed like the first time in years. Liho had wandered off somewhere with Steve so she was free to just relax for a few moments. She was reading a book about life in France when Bucky came in. He sat down on the seat opposite her, clearing his throat until she acknowledged him.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot…” He started.

Natasha put down the book for a moment to look at him.

“Well I think we did too.” She interrupted.

“Okay.”

“But I appreciate your apology.” She smiled and picked up the book again.

“Apology?” Bucky frowned. “Who said anything about an apology? I was just saying that we-”

“Please, don’t talk anymore, okay? It’s only going to upset me.” She put the book down.

“Fine.” Bucky shrugged and sit back on the chair. “I’ll be quiet. I’ll be quiet if you will.”

“I’ll be quiet.” Natasha mimicked his actions and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Bucky groaned and Natasha ignored him and looked out the window. Her heart couldn’t help but feel a little heavier as she watched the country that she grew up in pass her by.

“Do you think that you’ll miss it?” She asked, sighing.

“Miss what, your talking?” He muttered through his teeth.

She grimaced at him. “No, Russia.”

He scoffed and raised an eyebrow.

“But it was your home.”

“It was a place that I once lived. End of story.”

“So you plan on making Paris your true home.”

Bucky groaned and threw his hands up. “What is it with you and ‘home’s.”

Natasha shot to her feet. “Well for one thing, it’s something that _every_ normal person wants.”

He was looking up at her with a smug expression on his face, knowing that he had once again pushed her buttons. She wanted to smack that smirk off of his surprisingly kissable mouth.

Wait, what.

The thought that she would find his lips kissable stopped her short. He angered her, pushed her buttons constantly, told her how to act and what to say, she should _not_ want to kiss him. But yet, there she was, finding herself wanting to shut him up by pressing her lips against his.

“And it’s just.. Ugh!” She had to get out of that small room, lest she does something she probably wont regret but really shouldn’t do.

Natasha tried kicking his feet out of the way but then gave up and climbed over the seat. She got off the seat and Bucky stood up, groaning, probably lamenting the fact that they took her instead of someone else. The door opened and Steve walked in with Liho purring in his arms.

“Thank god it’s you,” she sighed. “Now please, remove him from my sight.”

“What have you done to her?” Steve asked, frowning at his companion.

“Me?!” Bucky almost yelled. “It’s her!”

Natasha threw her hands up. “Ha!” And left the room before she punched him in his too attractive, dumb face.

She walked off to the bathroom, muttering about Bucky and how stupid he was and how dumb all this was. But she could help but find her face growing hotter as she thought about the way those lips curled into a smirk and the way he made her stomach do flip-flops when he looked at her through his eyelashes. She clambered into the bathroom, almost slamming the door behind her.

Natasha splashed some water on her face, needing to cool down before she when back into that room. How could someone get under her skin so quickly and so completely?


End file.
